


Baby Bleus

by JCHB322



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24415798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCHB322/pseuds/JCHB322
Summary: This ficlet popped its way into my head when my husband stumbled onto this quest/book while playing The Witcher 3 last night.The book in the game was called: Tyromancy, or the Noble Art of Cheese. There was a section that read: The best divination, however, is done using the ancient method of fondue. One must simply melt two different kinds of cheese, preferably emmental and gruyere, in white wine or, in a pinch, in a dry apple cider. Then one must use a long stick to immerse a morsel of bread in the resultant thick soupy mixture, all the while keeping in mind the question, “What shall my child be like when he (or she, as the case may be) grows?” Then bring the cheese-covered morsel of bread up to a candle, so that it casts a shadow on the wall. The shape will provide a sure and easily understood answer to your query.When I read that I immediately pictured Alistair doing just that and thus, the mini-story below is the result! (I’ll probably end up tying it into one of my other long-fics!) 😊
Relationships: Alistair/Female Warden (Dragon Age)
Kudos: 7





	Baby Bleus

It was the sudden draft that woke me from my slumber. The coals in the fireplace were barely glowing. I rolled over and patted the mattress next to me.

“Mmph… Ali?” My husband’s side of the bed was empty. I slowly sat up. _Maybe he decided on a late-night snack?_ Just then my own stomach grumbled. _Silly Grey Warden appetite… Now_ ** _I’m_** _hungry… or maybe it’s “junior” that’s complaining_ , I smiled as I stroked my six-month pregnant belly _._

I swung my legs off the side of the bed and slipped on my fur and satin mules to keep my feet from freezing on the cold marble floor. Before investigating if the palace kitchens were indeed where Alistair was hiding, I put a few more logs on the grate and stoked the fire to get them burning.

Several minutes later I slowly opened the wooden door leading to the castle’s main kitchen. Alistair was indeed there, sitting on a large box, by the long table the head-cook used for her food preparation. He had several sections of cheese, cut into cubes, a jug of Ferelden lager, some spices, and herbs, and was mumbling to himself as he added the ingredients to a small three-legged iron pot set over a low-burning candle. 

Curious, I continued watching through the crack in the door. When Alistair seemed to be satisfied with the concoction he had in the pot, I then saw him pick up a long, thin fork. He pierced a piece of crusty bread on the end of it, dipped it into the pot, then withdrew the bread piece, now dripping with hot, melted cheese.

_ Ah! A cheese fondue snack!  _ I licked my lips and my stomach rumbled again. I was about to open the door and join my love when I noticed he wasn’t eating the cheese-covered bread, but rather holding it up to a candle and then examining the shadow it made on the wall.

“Hmm… no, that can’t be right.” I heard him mutter quietly. He then plucked the bread off the fork and placed it onto a plate. Then he pierced another, dipped it, and again proceeded to study the shadow on the wall. “Poppycock! That shape is just silly looking! I must not be doing this right!” he grumbled. 

I watched him do this a few more times, my stomach growling at the silly waste of bread and cheese that was slowly piling up on the plate. Finally, my curiosity (and hunger) had to be satisfied. I opened the door all the way and walked over to my husband and embraced him from behind, my pregnant belly bumping into his back. I kissed his neck.

“It isn’t like you to waste good cheese, my love, so I must ask… What on Thedas are you doing?”

He placed the fork down onto the plate; the melted cheese and bread already cooled and he sighed.

“I was in town earlier today, running some important documents over to Bann Sighard -- he’s in Denerim at the moment -- and this strange woman beckoned me into her bookshop. I had no idea why, but she said I could find the answer to what I seek if I just closed my eyes, turned three times, and took four steps forward.”

The incredulity on my face gave Alistair pause for a moment. I sat down next to him on the large box. He smiled gently and continued. 

“I know it sounds totally crazy, but I humored her. I closed my eyes, turned three times, and took the four steps forward… and found myself facing a bookshelf. There was only one book on it, so I picked it up.”

“And what did my silly husband pay for this ‘miracle’ book?” I plucked it off the table where it had been resting.

“Forty sovereigns.” At the look on my face, he sighed again. “Look, sweetheart, we can afford it… and the poor woman looked like she could use the gold.”

“I’m not mad about the gold, Ali… but the title is what is confusing me.  Cheese Divination? ” Opening the book, I scanned some of the chapters. “Get the forecast for your farm by the saltiness of Feta? Read the lines of mold in your Orleasian Bleu to gain fame and fortune?” I then flipped it open to the page he’d bookmarked. “Know what lies in store for your future offspring by the shadows your Fondue makes?” I put the book down and took his hand into mine. “So why did you feel the need to do this, my love?”

“I - ” He swallowed nervously. “I am terrified.”

I stroked his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Of what?”

“Of this.” He laid his other hand on my stomach. “You, carrying my child, when both of us still have the Taint in us. Me, being a father. I don’t have the first clue on what to do!”

“Ali, my love. Do you think I know what being a mother is going to be like? Do you think I don’t have the same concerns about our baby’s health and well-being? I do. But we are in this together. We love and support each other, just as we did when we fought the Blight side-by-side. We got through that. We can get through this… and whatever else fate may throw our way.” I gently brushed my lips against his. “Our child is a miracle. A miracle neither of us thought we would ever have… and he, or she, when they grow up, will be amazing. Do you know why?”

He shook his head.

“Because this baby will have all the love and support from us, the parents… and Ali? For the record, I think you will be an amazing father.”

“How do you know?”

“I remember back when we were in Lothering there were two little terrified children in the Chantry… and this brave, charming, caring, young man knelt down by them and told them silly stories and jokes to help keep them calm. I remember the concern and care he showed to Connor once I’d driven the demon from him. I remember the sweet hug he gave to Amalia before we left Honnleath… and I remember him buying some dolls for some poor children in Denerim, instead of buying the cheese wheel he’d been eyeing.

“You are a generous soul with an amazing capacity for love, Ali. So I have no doubt in my mind that fatherhood will come very naturally to you.” 

He hugged me as close as my body would allow. “How do you always know the perfect things to say to me?”

I gave him a peck on his nose. “Perks of being your friend, partner, lover, and wife, I suppose.” I then gave him a very serious look. “However, the next thing I say will not be so kind…” 

Ali’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Alistair Theirin, how dare you waste all that good cheese! Now, give me that fork and let us salvage your fortune-reading attempts. I am hungry and eating for two, you know!”

He stared at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter. I joined in as he handed me the fondue fork. “Yes, ma’am!” He then quickly made another batch of the cheese-sauce and we fed each other until we were both full. Then we stumbled back to our bedroom and quickly fell asleep in each other’s arms.


End file.
